Letter: State has allowed problems for years at prisons

I read with interest Tim Smith’s story about the poor treatment of state prison inmates who have serious mental health conditions. Most of these prisoners will be released to society. Circuit Judge Michael Baxley’s court order finding the current treatment of these inmates unconstitutional will require the South Carolina Department of Corrections to take specific corrective steps including hiring more mental health professionals.

The examples given in the court order read like the 1948 movie “Snake Pit.” Mentally damaged persons, even convicts, should not be ignored or mistreated to the point where they commit suicide.

If the situation were not so serious one would have to find Sen. Mike Fair’s “we need to start fixing it” comment hilarious. Sen. Fair is the chairman of the Senate Corrections and Penology Committee. The conditions described in Judge Baxley’s order have been ongoing for 10 years. The lawsuit was filed eight years ago in 2005. Studies referenced in the court order date back many years and were shared with the General Assembly. Apparently these conditions are somehow new to the Senate Corrections Committee. What is that committee doing if not monitoring the state’s prisons? They should have held hearings and recommended funding for more mental health people years ago.

I congratulate the nonprofit group Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities for bringing this case to court and standing up for mentally ill inmates and their families.